2021: A year in kit
At the end of each year, we like to take a look back at the new cameras and lenses that have been introduced and tease out some trends. Of course, 2021 has been a year unlike any other. With the Covid crisis in its second year, a global microchip shortage and widespread disruption to supply chains, fewer new cameras have been launched than at any time since 1998, when multimegapixel digicams started to take off. The question of what kind of camera you’re expected to buy appears to have shifted, too. It’s no longer between compact, DSLR or mirrorless, but instead about what size sensor you’d like in your new mirrorless camera.
Let’s dig into the numbers more deeply. At the time of writing, we’ve seen just 16 new cameras in 2021. Of these, only one was a DSLR and one a compact camera, both from the same company: the Pentax K-3 Mark III and the Ricoh GRIIIx. Of the mirrorless models, two were medium format, five full-frame, four APS-C, and two Micro Four Thirds. The most affordable entry-level cameras came with asking prices of £750 or more, while the majority cost over £1,500. In part, this reflects the fact that we’ve seen a lot of innovative top-spec professional models, including the Canon EOS R3, Fujifilm GFX100S, Nikon Z 9 and Sony Alpha 1. Even so, it’s no wonder the second-hand market is booming.
While it’s no shock to find mirrorless dominating, the apparent decline of the enthusiast-focused advanced zoom compact camera is more of a surprise. But if we disregard Sony’s ZV-1 ‘vlog camera’, the last round of new models appeared in July 2019. Hopefully Canon, Panasonic and Sony have simply decided that their existing offerings are fine for now and will update them in future. It would be sad to see this breed suffer the same fate as their point-and-shoot counterparts and go extinct at the hands of the smartphone.
More lenses than ever
In contrast, new lenses were introduced at record pace. By my count, of 68 new optics from mainstream makers, 59 were for mirrorless, including 39 for full frame. At the same time, at least 60 DSLR lenses quietly disappeared from the market. So while
